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Sep 1

Back to School Tips and Tricks!



Summer is officially ending and students are either fully back to school or heading back this week. Along with that comes weekly schedules, setting alarms and extracurricular activities. Just getting everyone up and out of the house on time is an accomplishment in September! Here are just a few tips and tricks to make things a little easier from a former teacher's point of view!

  1. Get into a routine for before and after school. Do this however works best for your family, but try to practice it before school starts so everyone knows what to expect. Little ones thrive on routine and knowing what's coming up. You can even find ways to get your kids involved in making their own choices about lunches, snacks, and getting ready for the day.

  2. Communicate with your child's teacher. Hopefully teachers or schools have sent out some sort of communication by now... but if you still have questions make sure you reach out! This goes for letting them know about anything you need them to know about your child before school starts. This really helps set everyone up for success from the start.

  3. Look out for beginning of the year paperwork. Typically the first few days of school comes with lots of paperwork! Our schools in the past used to do this by sending papers to be filled out home with students in folders. Other schools may send them digitally.

  4. Have patience! Remember that everyone is getting back into the swing of things- parents, kids, teachers, bus drivers, school staff, etc. Have patience with yourself and everyone else as the new school year begins. It is such an exciting time but can be stressful and busy as we all know! Just remember that it'll take some time but in a few weeks everyone will be in a routine.


Here are some more resources for preparing for back to school:


Jun 7

The Summer Slide.. No Not That Kind!

Have you heard of the term "summer slide" from your child's teacher or from other places in the community or online? The end of the school year and start of summer bring about this term in so many different capacities, but what does it actually mean? Basically, the summer slide is the learning loss that can happen if students don't keep up with practicing learned skills over the summer. Think about it- they spend 7-8 hours a day for over 100 days a year in an academic routine, building on knowledge and honing their reading, writing, math and executive functioning skills. Over the summer, camp, swimming, vacations and other fun (and much needed) activities take the place of this practice so it's understandable that kids can be a little rusty going back in September.


The teacher in me wants to say "YES. Kids need to practice a little every day!!!!".

But, realistically summer brings a whole new set of challenges for students and parents with camp and work schedules, playdates, and longer days and nights. SO what can you do? Honestly, start with reading! Spend a little time at night before bed or wherever you can fit it into your day. Read to them, have them read to you, act out stories, listen to audio books in the car on the way to camp, talk about the books your listening to or reading. Practice counting while waiting in line at the amusement park, make lists of what you need from the store together, write letters to friends and family that you haven't seen in awhile. Summer practice doesn't need to be drills and flashcards, especially when little ones are so much more interested in the world around them!


In short, do what you can, practice when and how you can, and keep it fun for everyone! Check out the activities and printables pages for some activities you might want to try this summer and see below for more information on "summer slide".


Resources:



May 10

Catching Up

It has been a little while since I have made a blog post! I have been working on some other projects and focusing on updating our books, while getting caught up in the busyness of spring and the end of the school year. I am an admin now, but the end of the year craziness is still very much part of my day as the buzz of summer break looms. My hope is to be able to continue to bring you monthly books and fun, educational activities that will help your little one over the summer! That's one of the main projects I am working on in the background, so stay tuned for some easy, Kindergarten-readiness activities coming your way!

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